Speaking Wednesday to members of the Batesville Exchange Club, Rubert Morgan said that Panola area people who are neither coon hunters nor coon hound aficionados can support next weekend’s UKC Winter Classic just by coming out and enjoying the free show.
It’s the third year that the Batesville Civic Center and north Mississippi have hosted this world-class competitive hunt and show. The number of dogs pre-registered this year stands at 925, surpassing last year’s 800 entries.
Morgan, a lifelong coon hunter and dog lover, is a member of one of a half-dozen or more area coon hunting clubs whose members serve as volunteer guides and hosts in woods where the competitive night hunts are held.
The local area coon hunters are one key to the success that UKC has found with Batesville as the Winter Classic site.
Area landowners also contribute by allowing use of their land for hunting. “Most of the people around here who own land, they will let you — if you ask them,” Morgan said.
Another is the civic center itself. It’s heated and comfortable and big enough to accommodate hunters, their families and dogs and the many vendors who set up on the BCC floor.
Batesville’s hotels, motels, restaurants and other businesses that cater to visitors are another key to the UKC success here, Morgan said.
But what he would really like to see is more local people coming to the civic center to watch, to meet the out-of-town visitors and to shop vendors’ booths where the wares will range from utilitarian to exotic.
“I would love for as many people as can to come out and see what’s going on,” Morgan said, “to come out and enjoy it.”
Panola Partnership Ambassadors will be there, greeting visitors and providing information, but the Winter Classic can be as much fun for spectators as participants.
And there is always a need for this clarification: No coons are harmed during the UKC Winter Classic.
As a matter of fact, it’s against UKC rules to carry a firearm on the competitive hunts.
 Dogs are judged on “strike points” and “tree points,” Morgan said.
And the coons are left in the tree, probably wondering what all the commotion was about.